Pace of Classes

[mattymatt]

My wife and I are taking the PADI open water class. I have prior experience scuba diving and my wife has none. I noticed that the pace of the practical excersises is somewhat fast and they really jump right into getting you in the water using scuba. However, for people with no prior experience with scuba, it can be somewhat intimidating.

Why do they not get people used to the weight and feel of scuba equipment snorkeling with it first and then progress? It seems out of order to have snorkeling excersises later on.

 

[Walter]

Your suggestion would take more time. More time would result in fewer certifications. Some instructors teach that way (not usually in a PADI class, but there are some), but you have to look for a good class. Most classes are poor at best, many are dangerous, IMO.

 

[yoda4x4]

Walter is right on with his analysis. However, what I'd suggest you do is the following. Whenever you or your wife feels like you don't have ample time to practice, mention to your instructor that you and/or her would like some extra time to practice the individual exercise in another class or before/after your class. That way, you get to be more proficient with each exercise. And more importantly, you get comfortable doing what you'll need to while diving.

David

 

[Marvintpa]

The shop and the instructor have alot to do with setting the pace of the course. Most will start with having people just put their head under the water with a reg in their mouth for several minutes, then progress through reg in-reg out, reg recovery, and progress from there. The aim is to increase a person's confort level with the gear in a stationary position before letting them swim around, which should come next. Granted, some shops/instructors omit the swimming around for fun because they do not see the benefit... which boggles my mind. Ya hafta stop sometimes and smell the roses, or in this case, blow some bubbles. A course should not be all work. If it is you may wish to go elsewhere.
As has been mentioned, if a person experiences trouble with the pace they are more than welcome to say so, but unless someone says something many instructors will assume all is well and keep clipping along.
I am a PADI instructor, and we have some pretty solid guidelines we are strongly recommended to keep to, and they work exceptionally well... most of the time.

 

[mattymatt]

Thanks for your replies. I am gonna try and get my wife in an extra class this week to get her more comfortable and catch her up a bit before our regular class meets again. If it still seems too fast, I have no problem spending the extra $$$ for private lessons. This is something she wants to do, however, I want her to be comfortable and confident in her abilities, otherwise it takes the fun out of it.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

If you're going to spend the $$ getting her into an extra class, perhaps you should consider looking into a YMCA scuba class instead of PADI. They're typically structured to allow more pool time (since they don't have to pay for the pool ... it's already there), and spend a lot of time focusing on getting students comfortable in the water doing skin diving and snorkeling skills as well as the regular scuba exercises.

Most dive shop OW classes run 4 to 6 hours of pool time ... most YMCA OW classes run 12-16 hours of pool time.

Besides, it might be beneficial just to see how differently they present what amounts to the same information ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Firefyter]

I agree with NWGrateful Diver. I took a Y course 15 years ago, and I can tell you that they spend a lot more time doing practical skills. I'm not trying to say that PADI classes are bad, since it is the same information being taught. Sometimes, though, for someone who is unsure of their abilities, a little more time is well worth the effort. I know I was able to dive with a lot more confidence than some of my friends, simply because of the skills we worked on in the pool. They had the same information taught to them as I did, but they didn't have the time to put the information into practical use the way I did. This in no way makes me a better diver than anyone else, I was just more comfortable starting out than some were. Just my .02 worth.

Thomas

 

[DandyDon]

I am gonna try and get my wife in an extra class this week to get her more comfortable and catch her up a bit before our regular class meets again. If it still seems too fast, I have no problem spending the extra $$$ for private lessons. This is something she wants to do, however, I want her to be comfortable and confident in her abilities, otherwise it takes the fun out of it.

Good call! My original instructor was big on "Keeping it fun," and it's no fun if you're rushed uncomfortably.

You can try voicing your concerns to the Instructor? He might react poorly though, if he's already rushing students. Voicing your concerns to your wife would be positive, as long as you keep it about her - except, I've been single for 20 odd years, so I'm no authority of women.

good luck, don

 

[Foo]

Hi, Matt-
My first class was 5 months ago, and it was a fairly quick pace class, for several reasons. One, it was geared toward the 7 firemen who made the other members of the class- me, the only female, twice most of their ages. When it came time for our open water dives, I knew I wasn't ready. So, after (private) tears, quitting, and rejoining, I began private lessons with the same instructor, who was very patient with me- especially once he understood that I couldn't hang with those kids. ) However, he had to quit doing my lessons, as he was moving. So, I joined another class, with an instructor who I had met at the pool. I remembered that he always urged me to take my time, and to feel comfortable with what I was doing- not to feel rushed. That was the main reason I sought out this particular instructor. Well, to make a long story short, TODAY I completed my final open water dives and am officially a certified diver! I'm so excited. Yes, I took 5 months. (In my defense, there were several times when I didn't get to train for 2 wks at a time). But, at checkout, I did all my skills with confidence, in a river. The vis was between 4-10 feet, depending on who was downstream from me. I just kept thinking ... "Cozumellllllllll", as my instructor had urged. lol. But I did get to see some cool fish too, including angelfish. Hopefully this will help your wife. Sometimes, slow & steady is the way to go. Depends on the person, I suppose.
Foo

 

[neil]

.
Most dive shop OW classes run 4 to 6 hours of pool time ... most YMCA OW classes run 12-16 hours of pool time.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)

MOST shops around here schedule 12 hours of pool time. One shop I no longer teach for jams 10 hours into 2 weekend afternoons. I hope that 4-6 is not really the norm where you are.
I would love to observe an "instructor" teaching a 4-6 hour course. I'd even enroll in one if I could!
N